White Knight Chronicles is a RPG with the typical gameplay mechanics we have come to expect from games of this genre.
The game utilizes active time battles (ala Final Fantasy X / X-2) and also allows you to create your own combos which you can chain as long as you have enough Action Chips (earned by attacking enemies and being also taking damage from them). This however can lead to slow battles and there is a fair bit of waiting around especially during the first few hours leading into the game).
Characters are able to specialize into a specific role so as to maximise how much damage they are able to unleash. Healing in the game is very miminal and only requires that all your characters learn the cure spell which will carry you all the way through the first half of the game without any problems. This of course leads to repetitive gameplay (hack, hack, heal, hack, hack) which may frustrate a few people or appeal to some depending on your play style.
A great thing to mention which increases the relatively short single player campaign (as far as RPG's go) is the Geonet system which allows you to take your avatar online and complete quests with other fellow gamers. You can also create your own town with its own shops, stalls and resource nodes giving you a satisfying sense of achievement. Be warned though that to really get into this, you will be sinking a LOT of hours into farming the required materials and money for the buildings and expansion of the land. You are also able to access this relatively early in the game, so if you wish to have a change from the single player storyline, you can hop online and level up your avatar with other players around the world. Bear in mind that it is your avatar only that does side quests and the difficulty jump is quite significant as you are soloing bosses and monsters meant for up to 4 players.
White Knight Chronicles is a great game for people who are new to the RPG scene and want to be eased in with simplistic controls and an easy pace. If you are veteran player, bear in mind the shortcomings mentioned above, but you may yet find some charm in this RPG, especially if you have a few friends who are able to join you online.